Fit to be tied? Some pushing for dog tethering rules

Monday

Jan 16, 2017 at 4:45 PMJan 18, 2017 at 5:36 PM

When it comes to the issue of tethering your dog, some animal advocates are at the end of their leash.

Bill Hand BillHandNBSJ

A lot of people wouldn’t give the issue a second’s thought, but when it comes to the issue of tethering your dog, some animal advocates are at the end of their leash.A dog who lives its life on a chain is in danger of attacks and other health risks, they say — and a greater danger to the community as well.In October, Tyker Gonzales approached the Craven County Board of Commissioners seeking a county-wide ban on keeping dogs long-term on chains or ropes.“They were all very interested in the idea of it,” she said. “I presented them with several other ordinances that other counties in North Carolina have done.”Jack Veit, county manager, declined to comment on the possibility of tethering regulations other than to say that its possibilities will be discussed during a work session with the commissioners later this winter.Among the aspects being studied are its viability in a largely rural county. The county has not leash requirements.If such an ordinance were to pass, he noted, it would be effective only in the unincorporated areas of the county.Gonzales said she has had a fair amount of experience with dogs both in her own neighborhood and during her years in the past as a cruelty investigator with the Humane Society.“One dog was frozen to the ground with a logging chain,” she said. “They tie them up and the dogs are laying down. The ice comes in and they get frozen to the ground.”She described other dogs whose lives on chains resulted in their collars growing into their skin.She added that hurricanes and large storms can be serious problems for the dogs as owners may flee their homes, leaving the dogs behind and trapped on their chains. She said she heard nothing of this situation happening during Hurricane Matthew, but knows of cases in other storms across the state.“Recently we had a situation in my neighborhood where a dog that has lived tied to a tree was left there during a horrendous storm that included over four inches of rain and hail that damaged garden crops,” she said. “I tried contacting the owner and, had the dog not been an un-neutered pit bull that I was unfamiliar with, I would have rescued it myself.”Gonzales has an ally in Veterinarian Steven Stelma, the owner of the Animal Care Center Veterinary Hospital on U.S. 17 South and who is also president-elect of the N.C. Veterinary Medical Association.In a letter to the county, he said, “I have lost count of the number of dogs who have been left outside, chained to a tree, and have had their collars cut into their necks as they have grown. … Every summer we have to treat dogs for heat stroke; many die due to the severity of this condition. The most common cause is that they are chained to a tree or dog house, and the tether tips over their water bucket.”Dogs that are chained face a number of other dangers, according to a Humane Society website. “An otherwise friendly dog and docile dog, when kept continuously chained or intensively confined in any way, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive,” the site says. Dogs who spend their lives this way are also susceptible to insect bites and parasites, entanglement, strangulation, and attacks by other dogs or people, according to the website.On the flip side, those dogs can be a greater danger to people.“Dogs tethered for long periods can become highly aggressive,” the Humane Society website states. Dogs are territorial and, when feeling threatened, “respond according to their flight-or-fight instinct. A tied dog … resorts to fight, attacking any unfamiliar animal or person who unwittingly wanders into his or her territory. Tragically, the victims of such attacks are often children.”Gonzales has compiled of list of 33 such attacks across North Carolina since 1999, including the deaths of several toddlers who wandered into their neighbors’ chained dog’s territory.Stelma said he has contacted several other veterinarians in the county and of the five who responded to his emails, “they were unanimously in support” of a tethering law.“I have learned that 25 states currently have laws dealing with the issue of tethering,” he said, and while North Carolina is not among them, “11 North Carolina local governments have enacted similar laws,” including both cities and counties.As an example, Orange County passed a tethering ordinance in 2008. Under the ordinance dogs cannot be tethered longer than three hours in 24. When tethers are used, they must be a minimum of 10 feet in length with swivels at each end.Some exceptions are made for dog training, performance and sporting events.Gonzales wants to see the county’s ordinance go beyond tethering, however. “In Craven County the law enforcement feels it doesn’t have enough backing in laws to define what adequate food, water and shelter is,” she said.Referring to the case of her neighbor’s dog tied to a tree, she said she had approached Animal Services. “I was told there was nothing they could do as the law didn’t specify ‘shelter.’”According to a spokesman at the sheriff’s office, officers are able to act only on state cruelty statutes.The state’s welfare act, passed in 1977, was designed to protect animals and their owners regarding pets’ health. While requiring the provision of adequate food, water and shelter to animals, it primarily focuses on licensed animal handlers such as pet shops, breeders and shelters. Fines of up to $5,000 can be issued to violators.To help bring her case to the commissioners, Gonzales has started an online petition at www.gopetition.com (use the keyword “tethering” and “Craven County” to find it) that as of Thursday morning had garnered 159 signatures. She said she is also making paper petitions to leave at a number of businesses.Gonzales is patiently waiting for the county to complete its study on the issue, but hopes it will move quickly on the issue. “I’m really hoping to get something done by March,” she said.

Contact Bill Hand at bill.hand@newbernsj.com, 252-635-5677, and follow him @BillHandNBSJ.

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